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51 1998

EDUCATION ACT, 1998

PART II

Schools

Patron of school.

8. —(1) (a) The person who, at the commencement of this section, is recognised by the Minister as the patron of a primary school, and

(b) the persons who, at the commencement of this section, stand appointed as trustees or as the board of governors of a post-primary school and, where there are no such trustees or such board, the owner of that school,

shall be deemed to be the patron for the purposes of this Act and the Minister shall enter his, her or their name, as appropriate, in a register kept for that purpose by the Minister.

(2) In any case other than that provided in subsection (1), the patron of a recognised school shall be the person who requested recognition of the school or a nominee of such person and the name of that person shall be entered in the register.

(3) The Minister may amend the register in respect of any school on the application of the person who stands for the time being registered as the patron or of the successor to that person.

(4) In the case of a school established or maintained by a vocational education committee that committee shall be the patron of the school for the purposes of this Act.

(5) Where two or more persons exercise the functions of a patron they may be registered as joint patrons.

(6) The patron of a school shall carry out the functions and exercise the powers conferred on the patron by this Act and such other functions and powers as may be conferred on the patron by any Act of the Oireachtas or instrument made thereunder, deed, charter, articles of management or other such instrument relating to the establishment or operation of the school.

(7) In this section—

person” includes a body of persons;

school” includes a proposed school.

Functions of a school.

9. —A recognised school shall provide education to students which is appropriate to their abilities and needs and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, it shall use its available resources to—

(a) ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special educational needs, are identified and provided for,

(b) ensure that the education provided by it meets the requirements of education policy as determined from time to time by the Minister including requirements as to the provision of a curriculum as prescribed by the Minister in accordance with section 30 ,

(c) ensure that students have access to appropriate guidance to assist them in their educational and career choices,

(d) promote the moral, spiritual, social and personal development of students and provide health education for them, in consultation with their parents, having regard to the characteristic spirit of the school,

(e) promote equality of opportunity for both male and female students and staff of the school,

(f) promote the development of the Irish language and traditions, Irish literature, the arts and other cultural matters,

(g) ensure that parents of a students, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, have access in the prescribed manner to records kept by that school relating to the progress of that student in his or her education,

(h) in the case of schools located in a Gaeltacht area, contribute to the maintenance of Irish as the primary community language,

(i) conduct its activities in compliance with any regulations made from time to time by the Minister under section 33 ,

(j) ensure that the needs of personnel involved in management functions and staff development needs generally in the school are identified and provided for,

(k) establish and maintain systems whereby the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations can be assessed, including the quality and effectiveness of teaching in the school and the attainment levels and academic standards of students,

(l) establish or maintain contacts with other schools and at other appropriate levels throughout the community served by the school, and

(m) subject to this Act and in particular section 15 (2) (d), establish and maintain an admissions policy which provides for maximum accessibility to the school.

Recognition of schools.

10. —(1) On a request being made for that purpose, the Minister may from time to time designate a school or a proposed school to be a school recognised for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister may designate a school or a proposed school to be a school recognised for the purposes of this Act where the Minister, on a request being made for that purpose by the patron of a school or a proposed school, is satisfied that—

(a) the number of students who are attending or are likely to attend the school is such or is likely to be such as to make the school viable,

(b) in the case of a proposed school, and having regard to the desirability of diversity in the classes of school operating in the area likely to be served by the school, the needs of students attending or likely to attend the school cannot reasonably be met by existing schools,

(c) the patron undertakes that the school shall provide the curriculum as determined in accordance with section 30 ,

(d) the patron agrees to permit and co-operate with regular inspection and evaluation by the Inspectorate,

(e) the school complies, or in the case of a proposed school shall comply, with health, safety and building standards as are determined by law and any further such standards as are determined from time to time by the Minister, and

(f) the patron agrees that the school shall operate in accordance with such regulations as may be made by the Minister from time to time under section 33 and with this Act and with any other terms and conditions as may reasonably be attached to recognition by the Minister.

(3) A school that, on the commencement of this section, is in receipt of funds provided by the Oireachtas in respect of—

(a) the education activities for students of that school, or

(b) the remuneration of teachers in that school,

shall be deemed to be a school recognised in accordance with this section.

(4) The Minister may from time to time designate a place to be a centre for education.

Withdrawal of recognition,

11. —(1) Where the Minister is satisfied that the requirements for recognition of a school as provided for in section 10 (2) are not being met by a school, including a school recognised in accordance with section 10 (3), or that the functions of a school are not being effectively discharged and is of the opinion that recognition should be withdrawn from that school, the Minister shall inform the board, the patron, the teachers, the student council where one exists and the parents of students in that school by notice in writing of that opinion and the reasons for the opinion.

(2) If, after the expiration of three months from the date of the notice issued under subsection (1), and, after consideration of any representations made to the Minister by the board or the patron of the school, the teachers or the parents or the student council where one exists, the Minister remains of the said opinion, the Minister may withdraw recognition from the school by notice in writing addressed to the board and the patron of the school, and such notice shall be effective on and from the last day of the school year following the school year in which the notice was addressed to the board or such later date as the Minister may determine.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Minister in respect of a school from which recognition has been withdrawn to arrange to make alternative and appropriate education facilities available for those students who were enrolled in the school on the date of such withdrawal and who require those facilities.

(4) Where the Minister is satisfied that a school from which recognition has been withdrawn satisfies the requirements for recognition of a school as provided for in section 10 , and that the functions of the school will be effectively discharged, the Minister may restore recognition to that school, provided that such restoration of recognition shall not entitle that school or any person employed in the school to receive any payment out of monies provided by the Oireachtas in relation to the period subsequent to the withdrawal of recognition and prior to the restoration of recognition.

Annual funding.

12. —(1) The Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, shall determine and publish in each school year criteria by which any class or classes of recognised schools or centres for education are to be funded in the following school year from monies provided by the Oireachtas and such criteria shall allow for the payment of additional monies to recognised schools having regard to the level of educational disadvantage of students in the schools.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the Minister shall, in each school year by such date or dates as shall be determined by the Minister, make to each recognised school or centre for education a grant or grants, which accords with the criteria determined pursuant to this section, from monies provided by the Oireachtas in accordance with this Act, for the purposes of carrying on that school or centre for education.

(3) A grant or grants shall not be made unless the school is a recognised school at the date that such grant or grants are to be made.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, where, on the commencement of this section, arrangements are in place whereby grants are provided by the Minister to a body of persons which disburses such grants to two or more recognised schools, then nothing in this Act shall operate to alter such arrangements except with the agreement of that body or its successor.

(5) Where subsection (4) applies, the Minister shall, from monies provided by the Oireachtas, make such grant or grants to the body referred to in that subsection or its successor of an amount equal to the amount which, but for this subsection, would have been made to schools under subsection (2) and any such grant or grants shall be applied by that body for the benefit of students in those schools.